Meet the Parents
by Mizzykitty
Summary: Or I should say, meet the Takahashi's! This is a dubious pairing but I hope you'll find it fun anyway. YAOI. Keisuke/?
1. Chapter 1

Part I

Slowly, seductively, he lapped the very edge of Keisuke's ear. Then, nibbling softly on his earlobe, he slid an arm around his lover's waist and pulled him closer. He trailed kisses down the side of Keisuke's neck, nipping lightly at his shoulder. Keisuke sighed and wriggled slightly in his arms. His hands traveled downward till they rested lightly over the blond driver's growing arousal. Keisuke gasped, thrusting insistently at the hands that ran teasingly over the thin fabric of his cargo pants.

"Well, aren't you impatient," he murmured.

"You bet I am!" Keisuke growled, twisting out of his arms and shoving him down onto the bed. The Akagi driver straddled and kissed him fiercely, passion radiating from him like heat waves from an open road in summertime. "I've wanted you all damn day, and all you can do is sit there and _tease_ me?"

"Well, I-"

Keisuke dove in for another tongue-tangling temperature-raising kiss before he could finish. The blond man's hands were everywhere, caressing in some places, pinching and playing in others. He gasped with pleasure, writhing beneath his lover, reveling in the purely primal sensations.

Obviously not one to draw the moment out by denying himself what he had sought all day, Keisuke hastily stripped off both of their clothing. Identical groans issued from them both as his lover entered him. Thrusting forcefully, Keisuke made love to him with a voracious urgency. Their checked desires and frustration burned away in the heat of their passion, until they were spent, physically exhausted, emotionally sated.

Though sweating lightly, he snuggled closer, Keisuke's head resting comfortably on his chest.

"I love you, you know?"

He grinned.

"Yeah, I know."

Keisuke frowned and poked him in the side.

"Oi!"

"Ok, I don't know."

The blond driver's face crumpled into a pout, his eyes the perfect mirrors of sorrow.

"Oh all right, I love you too. For god's sakes stop giving me that look!" he relented, rolling his eyes in loving exasperation.

Keisuke's pout instantly dissipated, a radiant smile taking its place.

"Well good! So that means you'll come to dinner with my parents tonight, right?1"

He made a horrible face.

"I don't think so."

The pout resurfaced.

"No. Really, I mean it. No."

"But why?" the younger Takahashi whined.

"Because I'm not going over there just so that two people I don't even know can pick me apart, judge me, and then reject me, all based on the way I hold my chopsticks!"

Keisuke shifted slightly, gazing pleadingly up into his lover's annoyed expression.

"Come on! How do you know they'll reject you? I'm sure they'll like you just fine!"

"I _don't _do well with parents," he grumbled, scowling as if in recollection of past events.

"Of course you do, and I'm sure they'll love you. Besides, it won't be like that at all. Aniki will be there too. It'll just be an informal get-together….it's nothing to be afraid of."

He glared defensively at the blond driver.

"Who says I'm afraid? I'm _not _afraid. I just don't want to be there, that's all," he protested.

Keisuke snorted.

"Yeah, right, and my favorite car's the GT-R."

"Fuck you, Takahashi!"

"I think I'd rather fuck _you_!"

Keisuke pounced on him and began to nuzzle his neck with wet kisses.

"Hey, get off me! Don't think this is going to change my mind!" he objected half-heartedly.

"Of course not."

"I'm not going!" he re-iterated.

"Of course you aren't."

* * *

Takeshi whistled tunelessly as he made his way up the flagged stone walkway to the apartment his lover shared with his brother.

The doorbell rang a muted "pingpong" when he pressed the glowing button.

"Coming!" shouted a voice from inside.

Presently, Ryousuke's smiling face appeared in the doorway.

"Takeshi! Come in!"

Takeshi politely removed his shoes and entered the spacious apartment.

"I hope I'm not late," he said, rather superfluously. He was never late.

Ryousuke chuckled.

"I don't think you've ever been late a day in your life, Takeshi."

He grinned in amusement.

"Well, neither have you."

The elder Takahashi nodded as he grabbed his keys off the kitchen table.

"That's probably true."

"Speaking of late, where's Keisuke? Shouldn't he be ready by now?" he asked, glancing around the apartment for other signs of life.

Ryousuke's concerned frown painted an adequate picture without words, but he replied anyway.

"I don't know. I reminded him earlier this afternoon, but I haven't seen him since. I hope he'll be on time…my parents hate it when people are late to things."

As they walked to the waiting Nissan, Takeshi felt a lump of uneasiness congeal in the pit of his stomach.

"I really hope things go alright tonight."

The FC driver blinked in surprise.

"Why wouldn't they?"

Takeshi snapped on his safety belt and turned the ignition; the RB26DETT roared to life with a delicious rumble.

"Hmmm."

Watching the road, he failed to see the sideways glance Ryousuke cast him.

"I'm sure it'll be fine.

"I hope so," he replied, his apprehension palpable in the enclosed space of the GT-R's cabin.


	2. Chapter 2

Part II

"Why the _hell_ am I here?" he snarled in frustration, picking uncomfortably at his clothing.

"Stop twitching, they'll be here any minute!" Keisuke hissed.

"This is stupid, and I hate you for making me do this!"

"I love you too," Keisuke mumbled, just as the door opened to reveal a strikingly beautiful, if older, woman.

"Keisuke, sweetheart, you're just in time!" she said, pecking her son on the cheek and hugging him warmly.

"Hey, mom. This is Shouji Shingo. Shingo, this is my mom," he said, gesturing to each of them in turn.

"Hello dear, it's so nice to finally meet you," she said graciously.

"Um, hi, nice to meet you, too," he replied with a nervous smile.

She flashed a smile brighter than the sun at him, then invited them into the considerable residence.

"Come in, come in. Ryousuke and Takeshi are already here," she said as she led them to the living room. "That brother of yours, he's always early!" she commented, with a small note of pride.

Keisuke rolled his eyes at his mother's back, winking impishly at Shingo. The Myougi driver took the opportunity to cast him a worried look, in a last ditch effort to escape what he knew had to be his impending doom. Keisuke took his hand and squeezed it for reassurance. He shook his head and scowled, but Keisuke avoided his gaze. Unaware of this silent exchange, Mrs. Takahashi continued through the house.

As they crossed the foyer, and passed the dining room, Shingo resisted the urge to gawk open-mouthed like a fish out of water. The Takahashi home was big, to put it mildly. He had only been to the residence a couple times, and even then he'd never been inside anything more than the garage.

Trying desperately to forget the last time he was in a situation like this, he took several deep breaths and followed Keisuke into the living room.

Seated on one of the elegant couches were Ryousuke and Takeshi, side by side. In a large leather arm chair across from them sat what could only have been Dr. Takahashi, a distinguished looking man in his mid- to late-forties. All three turned to look at them as they entered.

"Keisuke! Come in, have a seat."

"Hey, Dad. This is Shingo. Shingo, my dad," he waved them at each other like a mother instructing her children to "play nice".

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Takahashi," he said, trying to stay as polite as possible.

"Ah, well, it's good to meet you too, young man. I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh…good," he replied sheepishly.

Dr. Takahashi chuckled in amusement.

"Don't worry, it wasn't _all_ bad…just mostly!"

Everyone laughed as he flushed with embarrassment at all the attention focused on him.

Thankfully, Mrs. Takahashi reappeared just then.

"Dinner is ready, everyone! Shall we adjourn to the dining room?"

"Oh yes, dear, it smells delicious." The doctor rose from his leather chair.

"I hope you like French cuisine!" Mrs. Takahashi trilled from the dining room.

Dr. Takahashi led the way, followed by Ryousuke and Takeshi, with Keisuke and Shingo trailing behind.

"Who the hell eats French food besides French people?" he hissed under his breath.

"Sssh! It's fine!" Keisuke hissed back.

Shingo seated himself at the table, next to Keisuke and across from Takeshi. The food, as it turned out, wasn't half bad. Some of it was a little on the buttery side of things, but he ate it with enthusiasm anyway.

"So Takeshi, what business are you in?" Dr. Takahashi asked brightly.

"I'm an investment banker with Asahi Bank," Takeshi replied.

"Ah, finance! You know, if I hadn't gotten into medical school, I would probably have fallen back on my degree in finance."

"Oh really?"

"Dad, I didn't know you had a finance degree," Ryousuke raised his eyebrow in surprise. "I didn't think you ever wanted to do anything but medicine."

"Oh, of course I didn't. But even the most brilliant medical students have to have a back up plan."

"That's very wise," Takeshi agreed.

Ryousuke shrugged.

"Maybe so, but I'm not interested in anything else. I won't need alternate plans."

"Well, that's a very positive attitude to have, dear," his mother chimed in.

"Yes," Dr. Takahashi nodded. "I just wish Keisuke had that kind of ambition."

Upon hearing his name, the younger Takahashi looked up from where he had been picking at his food in boredom. He blinked at his father.

"Hmm, what?"

"We were just discussing your brother's future plans. What are your plans, Keisuke?"

"To graduate college," he answered immediately.

"I think your father means after that, dear," his mother clarified.

Keisuke shrugged.

"I dunno. I might try professional racing. Aniki says I really have a shot at making it to the pros."

Dr. Takahashi shot his eldest son a pained look.

"Ryousuke, I wish you wouldn't encourage him. I'm very supportive of you boys having a hobby, but racing is not a suitable profession, and especially not for one with an education as expensive as yours is!"

Keisuke's face scrunched into a pout in response to his father's lecture.

"Oh now, Eiji. They're young yet. Give him a few years, and I'm sure he'll grow out of it," his mother soothed.

"Yes, I suppose you're right, dear," the doctor capitulated.

Keisuke's pout faded, the lecture safely avoided.

"So Shingo, what business are you in?" Dr. Takahashi queried conversationally.

"Oh, um, the auto industry," he replied, trying to be as vague as possible.

Keisuke's father frowned.

"It's not racing, is it?"

"Oh no! Nothing like that."

"That's good, that's very good," the doctor nodded in approval.

He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, Dad. Actually, he's a mechanic," Keisuke piped in.

"Oh." The doctor paused as a strained hush descended upon the table. "Really?"

Shingo kicked Keisuke under the table, never wanting to kill his lover more than at that very moment. Even Takeshi looked sympathetically embarrassed.

"Er, yeah, I mean yes," he answered.

"Hmm." Dr. Takahashi's eyebrows knitted in consternation. "And you like it, do you?"

"Well yes, actually I do," he replied. "It can be interesting. And besides, I like to fix things."

"If you think about it, Dad, it's not so different from diagnosing and treating patients," Ryousuke commented, obviously trying to be helpful.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. Dr. Takahashi looked annoyed.

"I hardly think there's any comparison."

Now it was Shingo's turn to be irritated, but to his credit, he kept his mouth shut.

"Oh come on, Dad," Ryousuke interjected in an effort to ease the escalating tensions. "It really isn't-"

"I mean, it's like manual labor, isn't it?" Dr. Takahashi barreled on, completely ignoring his eldest son.

"_Skilled_ labor. It requires a degree, you know," Shingo snapped.

Keisuke kicked him under the table.

"Yes, I'm sure it does," the doctor commented snidely.

No one could have missed the condescension in his voice. The Civic driver's eyes narrowed in barely contained fury, but before he could reply, three different sets of feet kicked him under the table.

Having prepared for just such an emergency, Takeshi hit the speed-dial button on the cell phone in his pocket. Shingo's beeper went off with an audible electronic trill.

"Oh, excuse me," he mumbled, fishing the little plastic object out of his pocket. He blinked a few times in confusion at the number that popped up on the LCD.

He cast Takeshi a puzzled look, and received a meaningful glare in response.

"Oh, um…looks like I have to go," he announced apologetically. "I'm really sorry about all this. Dinner was delicious, and thank you for inviting me."

"Oh, that's all right, dear. We understand," Mrs. Takahashi said, giving her husband a pointed look. "I'm just so glad we were finally able to meet you."

"Yes, it was ah, a pleasure meeting you," Dr. Takahashi offered with real reluctance.

He rose to leave.

"Thank you, and you too," he replied with about as much sincerity as he could muster, which is to say none.

"Oh wait, I'll uh, walk you out," Keisuke muttered, scrambling to his feet.

He ran after Shingo, who was walking away almost faster than he could run. Either way, he didn't stop long enough for Keisuke to say anything until he reached his car.

"I'm really sorry," the blond driver apologized frantically, anything to stop him from leaving.

"Sorry? You set me up for this!" Shingo snarled as he flung open his car door with a violent jerk.

"How can you say that? I had no idea this would happen!"

"Oh yeah, right! I suppose this is all just a big surprise to you, eh?"

Keisuke gaped in shock.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't pretend to be stupid! You did this on purpose, just so you would have an excuse to get rid of me!"

"What are you talking about?" the blond driver yelled in frustration.

"I knew it! I can't believe I actually thought it would be different this time," Shingo spat.

"But…I…" Keisuke spluttered, completely bewildered by the accusations being flung at him. "Don't you think you're overreacting? I mean…so what if they don't like you? I'm not going to change my feelings just because of what they say!"

Shingo's eyes narrowed to murderous little slits.

"That's what you say now!"

He jumped into the Civic and slammed the door shut with such force that Keisuke was glad he hadn't tried to stick his hand in there to stop him.

The little hatchback screeched off, leaving the blond FD driver staring foolishly after it.


	3. Chapter 3

Part III

Back in his apartment, Keisuke flopped onto his bed. After Shingo had torn off in his car, dinner had proceeded with a lot of tension and strained silences. It had been quite an ordeal, even for Takeshi and his brother. He wondered what they were doing at the moment. He had hoped his Aniki would come talk to him, but they hadn't spoken since they left the house. Then, staring at the phone, he dared to wonder what Shingo was doing. He wanted to call him, but he had no idea what to say. The most frustrating thing of all was that he honestly had no idea why his lover was so angry with him. It wasn't as if he had any control over the situation.

"He acts like I did this on purpose!" he muttered to himself. Going over the conversation again in his mind, he tried to make sense of all the things that Shingo had been yelling at him, but ended up even more confused. He growled in frustration as he recalled the Civic driver's final words to him. "What in the hell does that MEAN?"

Suddenly, a tentative knock sounded at his door. Thank goodness, his Aniki was here.

"Come in!" he called.

The door opened, and to his surprise, Takeshi slipped into the room, closing the door behind him.

Nakazato? Now what the hell's he want?

Keisuke shifted uneasily at the awkward silence that followed. It wasn't that he disliked Takeshi, he just didn't have much in common with him. As a consequence, the two of them, though amiable, rarely exchanged more than the occasional smile, nod, or word of greeting.

"Can I sit?"

"Whatever," he shrugged.

Takeshi gave the room a critical sweep before returning his gaze to Keisuke, and crossing his arms.

"Where?"

"Here, I guess," he beckoned, sweeping a stack of cds and magazines off the bed.

Takeshi lowered himself on to the indicated spot and sighed.

"So what did Shingo say?"

Keisuke frowned. He didn't exactly want to discuss the fight with Takeshi, of all people. But after a moment's hesitation, he realized that more than anything, he wanted to talk. In the absence of his older brother, and also since Nakazato was willing to listen, he decided he might as well tell him. And besides, he was confused as hell and Takeshi, having known Shingo longer, might have some useful insights.

"He accused me of setting him up. He thinks I feel the same way my parents do. In fact, I think he thinks I'm going to break up with him just because my parents disapprove." His forehead wrinkled in consternation. "That's so stupid, I'd never do that! Why would he even think something so idiotic?"

Takeshi pursed his lips.

"Well…"

Something in the tone of Takeshi's voice made him look up from where he was picking at his comforter.

"…because it's happened before."

The lines in his forehead deepened some more.

"What?"

"Well…you know Shouji and I dated, before our ah, current arrangement," Takeshi began tentatively.

Keisuke laughed out a "HA!" of contempt.

"Who /doesn't/ know?"

Takeshi spared him an irritated glance before continuing.

"Did he ever tell you why we broke up?"

The blond driver snorted.

"He didn't need to; it's obvious! You two fight all the time. It was a wonder you stayed together as long as you did!"

The Myougi team leader nodded.

"True. A lot of people thought the same thing. I guess we stayed together so long because we kept thinking things would get better. Neither of us knew why we were so unhappy, we just knew that we were. And I guess like fools, we kept hoping that it would miraculously work out."

Keisuke's eyes rounded in surprise. Takeshi had never spoken to him seriously before. In fact, he was used to the GT-R driver treating him like nothing more than Ryousuke's bratty kid brother. He was also rather intrigued because he'd never heard this story before; Shingo had always been less than forthcoming about his prior relationship with Takeshi. He'd always suspected that neither of them had ever quite got over the other, but for the sake of propriety he'd never pried. He did, after all, have _some_ tact.

"So what happened? How did you finally figure it out?"

"One day, I dragged him to my house to meet my parents. As I probably should have guessed, they absolutely hated his guts. It didn't really matter to me, at first, what they thought. I mean, they're just my parents; they don't control my life."

Keisuke nodded.

"But the more I thought about what they said, the more it made sense to me. I mean, I'd like to say that my parents were wrong, and that our differences didn't bother me, but after a lot of thinking, it suddenly occurred to me that they actually bothered me a lot."

The Redsuns driver's eyes narrowed in disgust.

"Now wait a minute!" Takeshi growled. "Don't look at me like that! It wasn't about the money!"

Keisuke snorted in disbelief.

"Oh yeah? Then what?"

"My parents made me realize that we didn't have as much in common as we thought we did. We both wanted something very different from our lives. I mean, he just never understood why my career was so important to me. He didn't get why I'd work late, or get stressed out about the future. When you love someone, you're supposed to share your life with them. But how could I share my life with a person who didn't know and didn't care about what I spent 50 of my waking hours doing? It doesn't make him a bad person, and it doesn't make me one either. We just weren't right for each other. I guess it took my parents to finally make me see that."

"Oh," Keisuke breathed, feeling a little guilty for having been so quick to judge Nakazato. "So I guess he thought…"

"Yeah. He was too hurt, too angry to really listen to me. And I was too emotionally confused to explain my feelings very well. He just jumped to conclusions and assumed that it was all about my parents, and about the whole money thing. It wasn't, of course, but I don't blame him. After all, I didn't exactly do a very good job explaining myself. So, I guess now he thinks you'll do the same thing."

"Well, I already tried to tell him that it didn't matter to me what my parents thought. But shit, he just won't listen!" he growled.

Takeshi gave him a knowing nod.

"Yeah, he does that. You should give him some time to calm down. There's no point in talking to him when he's hellbent on hating you."

Keisuke grimaced.

"Great."

"Hey," the Nissan driver consoled, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean it that way. He doesn't hate you; he's just pissed off. You know how Shingo gets when he's mad. Just give him a day or two to sort things out."

"This sucks! I don't want to wait! I just want to…to…"

"Go over there and choke some sense into him?" Takeshi offered brightly.

"Yeah!" Keisuke cheered.

The Myougi driver chuckled.

"Believe me, I know the feeling.

"So I'm supposed to just sit here and do nothing?"

"Don't worry. You can always try again tomorrow."

"I guess," Keisuke conceded.

Takeshi rose and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his cargo pants.

"Anyway, I just wanted you to know what was going on. I figured you had a right to know."

The blond driver nodded pensively, his gaze once again fixed on the hands in his lap.

"Yeah, thanks."

"No problem."

On his way out the door, Takeshi paused.

"He really loves you, you know that? I've never seen him so…happy."

Keisuke's head snapped up in surprise. He was astonished to find Takeshi looking awkwardly wistful.

"Anyway, I'm sure you'll work it out," he said hurriedly, before ducking out of the room and closing the door.

The FD driver turned off his bedside lamp, buried his head in his pillow, and tried hard not to think about how cold and empty his room suddenly was.


	4. Chapter 4

Part IV

Takeshi paced the bedroom in agitation because he simply couldn't sit still. Ryousuke sat at his desk, watching his lover surreptitiously from the corner of his eye.

"Takeshi…"

The GT-R driver paused in his pacing.

"You spoke with Keisuke?" Ryousuke asked.

"Yeah," Takeshi sighed. "But I'm not sure if it's enough."

Ryousuke rose from his desk to wrap comforting arms around his lover.

"You did the best you could. Whatever happens now, you're not responsible."

Takeshi frowned.

"I know, Ryou, but I just can't help it. I feel like I'm to blame for all of this. If I hadn't been so stupid back then, this wouldn't be happening now."

He heaved a dejected sigh.

"I just don't want them to make a mistake and break up over something that I did."

The FC driver held him at arm's length, eyeing him critically.

"You can't keep blaming yourself. Whatever happened, happened. It wasn't your fault then, and it's certainly not your fault now. You have to let them work out their problems on their own."

"But maybe if I just talk to Shingo…"

"Takeshi, let him make his own decisions. I learned a long time ago that even I can't stop my brother from making mistakes. If Shingo's stupid enough to break up with Keisuke over some imaginary slight, then that's a mistake that he'll have to make on his own. That's just the way it is: we all have to live our own lives."

"Yeah, I know. I just…"

"Love him?"

Feeling as if he'd been caught red-handed, Takeshi flushed crimson.

"No, of course not! It's-it's not-"

"Sshh," Ryousuke soothed, placing a hand on the spluttering driver's shoulder. "You don't have to come up with an excuse for my benefit. I know he's your friend and you care for him. But I also know how much you love me, and I trust you."

Takeshi opened his mouth to speak, but the FC driver cut him off again.

"Look, I'm tired of arguing with you. If you really can't let it go, then go talk to Shingo. Even if it doesn't help them, at least you can get some closure on the matter."

Takeshi hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then nodded.

"You're right, I should talk to him. Thanks," he said.

Then he gave Ryousuke a quick hug and exited the room.

* * *

Ryousuke rapped on his brother's door.

"Keisuke, are you still awake?"

"Yeah, I guess," came the reply, muffled through the thick door.

Opening the door, he entered the dark bedroom, careful not to step on any one of the number of things that littered the floor.

Keisuke reached over and switched on his bedside lamp, sitting up in bed.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's ok, Aniki. I couldn't sleep anyway," his brother muttered as he ran his fingers through his blond spikes.

Ryousuke smiled at the adorable sight that presented. Seating himself on the bed, he reached out to ruffle Keisuke's hair affectionately.

"So how're you holding up?" he asked, his voice pregnant with concern.

Keisuke pouted.

"Awfully, Aniki. I mean, even with what Nakazato told me, I still don't know what to do!"

The FC driver slung an arm around his brother's shoulders in consolation.

"Well, I think it's important that you reassure Shingo…let him know your feelings aren't going to change as a result of this."

"I already did that!" the blond complained. "There's nothing I can say that I haven't already said a million times! He's just so stupid, and he never listens to me!"

Ryousuke patted him as he vented his considerable frustrations.

"And now there's this whole thing with Takeshi! What the hell am I supposed to do about it? It's not my fault Nakazato's a jerk! No offense, or anything," he inserted quickly. Ryousuke gave him an understanding nod. "Those idiotic Night Kids and their idiotic problems! And mom and dad, too! Why are they so stupid? Why can't they just accept him? Why does everything have to be about what school you're going to, and what job you're going to get, and how much you're going to make? I don't care about all that crap!"

"They just want what's best for you, that's all," the elder Takahashi soothed.

"Isn't it enough that I'm happy? Isn't /that/ what's best for me?" he countered.

"Mom and dad just think differently, that's all. They have a totally different set of priorities. They want you to be happy, but they don't realize that what makes you happy isn't the same as what makes them happy. You see?"

Keisuke wrinkled his nose in a dubious expression.

"I guess. But what's wrong with Shingo? Why don't they like him?"

"Not everyone sees him the way you do…" Ryousuke hedged. "Honestly, we were all a little shocked when we first heard."

The FD driver blinked in surprise.

"What? Why?"

Ryousuke coughed in embarrassment.

"Well, it's just that he's a little…different. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but at the same time, I'm not at all surprised that dad didn't approve."

"But…" Keisuke frowned, not exactly sure how to formulate his protest.

"Look, Keisuke, you have a way of seeing to the heart of things. It's like how you hate GT-R's. If a mediocre driver in a GT-R wins a race, it doesn't impress you like it would impress someone else. For you, it's not about what kind of car you drive or how much driving theory you can spout off. You don't think, you feel, and all your driving comes from the heart. Your abilities, your skills, they come from you and nothing else, not even your car. You don't have the same prejudices that everyone else has, and that's why when you look at Shouji, you don't see what everyone else sees. God only knows what you do see in him, frankly, but I guess it must be something. Anyway, it would be nice if everyone was like you, but they're not."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better, Aniki," he grumbled. "Besides, I'm not the only one. Nakazato seems to have some kind of…thing…with him too. He said some weird stuff and had a goofy look on his face before he left."

Now it was Ryousuke's turn to frown.

"I won't pretend that I fully understand their rather complicated relationship, but I think I know what's going on."

"Oh?" Keisuke asked, with considerable interest.

"They say that you never really get over your first love, and I think that for those two, it's true. It's also compounded by the fact that they didn't make a very clean break of things all those months ago. I think that on some level, they're still in love with each other."

Keisuke looked horrified.

"Those bastards! Why didn't you tell me? Hell, why aren't you more pissed off?"

"I guess at first it did bother me a little," he admitted. "But then it occurred to me…Takeshi's with me, not him. However much Takeshi still cares for Shingo, it's obvious that it's me he loves."

The FD driver crinkled his face and wrinkled his nose.

"Don't you care at all that he has feelings for some other guy besides you? Aren't you worried that they'll…do something? I mean, they do live a lot closer to each other than we do to them! Shit, Aniki, what if they're together right now?"

Ryousuke chuckled at his brother's reaction.

"I hope they're together right now! I sent Takeshi to talk things out with Shingo, in the hopes that they could resolve their problems."

"WHAT?" Keisuke shouted, jumping to his feet. "How could you do that?"

"Because I trust Takeshi!" the FC driver replied calmly. "Don't you trust Shingo?"

"Of course not!" he howled. "He's so pissed at me right now, he could do anything!"

Ryousuke shook his head.

"I think you're overreacting."

Keisuke snatched his sweatjacket off the floor, threw on a pair of wrinkled cargo pants, and searched the room frantically for his keys.

"Keisuke, where do you think you're going at this hour?"

"If I hurry, I can catch 'em at it!" He dug quickly through his laundry until he found what he was looking for.

"Keisuke…"

"Do me a favor, Aniki," he asked.

"Of course."

"The next time you want to send your boyfriend to console mine, don't!" he growled as he strode out of the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

Part V

The doorbell rang.

Shingo opened the door to find Takeshi, out of breath and looking a little harried. He blinked in surprise, words failing him. He had been expecting Keisuke, honestly. In fact, he had prepared an entire list of biting, sarcastic remarks to fling at the FD driver, should he have had the nerve to show himself. But Takeshi he was wholly unprepared for.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing here?"

"Well shit, Shingo, that's a hell of a way to greet someone! Don't I at least get to come in?"

"Why should I let you in?" he snapped.

Takeshi sucked in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then exhaled it slowly.

"Because it's not really me that you're angry with."

"What the hell do you know?" he snarled, moving to close the door. Before Shingo could stop him, however, Takeshi wedged his foot in the doorway, and literally forced his way into the apartment.

"I know that you're making a big mistake!" he insisted as he closed the door behind him.

Shingo glared with all his might.

"Who the hell gave you the right to come in here and tell me I'm making a mistake? Get out! I don't have to take this, especially not from you!"

"Look, I know I'm the last person…well, next to last person, anyway…you want to see right now. And I know you don't want to hear this, but please, for once in your life, will you LISTEN to me?"

"Why? Why should I listen to you? What do you care what happens between Keisuke and me?" Shingo hissed. "YOU dumped ME, remember? Don't tell me after all this time you suddenly care about me!"

Takeshi was genuinely taken aback by his vehemence.

"I-I've always cared about you! I've always loved you."

The Civic driver paused for a moment, stunned by his admission. But then he recovered his anger.

"Don't! Don't fucking do this to me again!" he gritted. "Do you really enjoy jerking me around, or what? First it's 'I love you,' and then it's 'oh wait, you're not good enough for me because my parents said so,' and now it's 'I love you' again? Fuck that, and fuck you, too!"

"You don't understand! It didn't have anything to do with my parents! Their only part in all of this was making me see how different we really are. I never stopped loving you…but we couldn't keep going the way we were. We were both miserable, and you know it!"

Shingo didn't answer, so Takeshi took it as a sign that he was listening, and pressed on.

"I'm sorry. I know I could have handled it better at the time, but it was hard for me, too! Do you have any idea how horrible I felt?"

The long-haired driver looked surprised at this.

"I'm not some kind of heartless jerk, you know!" Takeshi growled in exasperation.

Shingo squinted doubtfully.

"Maybe you are, and maybe you aren't. But why are you telling me all this? Why now, after all this time?"

"Because! I don't want to see you write Keisuke off simply because of what happened between us."

"What the hell do you know about it?"

"I know that you love him."

"Bullshit! You don't know anything!"

"You want to bet? When you're with him..." Takeshi spoke slowly, carefully choosing his words, "…there was a time when I would have given anything to have that."

Shingo frowned, the steady support of anger dissolving beneath his feet, leaving him at a loss.

"Really?"

Takeshi nodded.

"God, yes. I wanted so much for things to work out. I wanted to believe that if we just loved each other enough it would fix everything. But no matter how much I tried, I just couldn't make us happy. It got to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore…I couldn't keep making excuses, and I couldn't keep living like that. Eventually I had to see the truth."

"Why didn't you tell me all this? Don't you think I would have understood? I'm not that stupid, I know things weren't exactly going well. But shit…you didn't even try to explain. What was I supposed to think?"

"I tried to tell you, but it just kept coming out wrong. I was still trying to sort out all my feelings. You were so pissed off, and you just wouldn't listen to me. I didn't know what to say…and I know it didn't help when I brought up my parents. Only now, after I've had all this time to think-"

"Yeah, well, hindsight is twenty-twenty, now isn't it?" Shingo snapped.

Takeshi sighed. "Yes, it is."

They were both silent for a few moments, all arguments apparently having been given. And then,

"So…where does that leave us?" Shingo asked.

Takeshi sagged onto the couch, suddenly exhausted.

"I'm not sure."

The Civic driver sat down next to him and frowned.

"Me neither. But I did love you, you know," he said, so softly it was almost a whisper. "More than you knew…more than anything."

Takeshi shook his head.

"No, you're wrong. I did know. I always have."

They sat there for awhile, quietly contemplative, each one wrapped in the sphere of his own thoughts.

After a bit, Takeshi sighed softly.

"It's getting late. I guess I'd better head home."

Shingo nodded.

"Yeah."

They both stood and faced each other, an awkward tension stretching between them. Tentatively, Takeshi reached out to him, and Shingo pulled him into a fierce hug.

Because they had no adequate words to express the depth of their feelings, they fell back on old habits.

"Try not to lose any races on the way home, ok? It's bad for our team image," the Civic driver teased, though his voice lacked its usual sarcastic bite.

Takeshi chuckled.

"I will, as long as you promise to keep your bumper to yourself."

"I think that's a little unfair. I mean, what if I happen to see a big yellow FR target just begging for it?"

The GT-R driver snickered.

"Give the poor bastard a break. I've been in his shoes, and believe me, it's no picnic."

Shingo snorted.

"Oh please, like I've ever nudged you off the road."

"You know why that is, don't you?"

"Because you drive a 4WD car?"

"No, because you have to catch me first."

Shingo rolled his eyes.

"It's a shock your neck doesn't snap like a twig under the weight of your head."

"I guess I'm just special like that," Takeshi tossed over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

"Yeah…" the Civic driver mumbled to himself as he closed the door behind Takeshi.

He sighed softly as he plopped back onto the couch. It felt as if someone had come along and taken a great big rock out of his trunk that he hadn't even known was there. Until now, he hadn't fully appreciated how much his breakup with Takeshi had been weighing on his mind and heart. Smiling, he felt freer than he had in months.

Takeshi was right, and it was a good thing they had talked. He almost shuddered to think what might have happened if he had been forced to confront Keisuke while still lugging all that emotional baggage around.

"Woulda fucked things up, eh, Mugen?" he asked his cat, who had come up to rub on him.

"Mrrrow?" Mugen asked, cocking his fuzzy gray head quizzically to the side.

"Yeah," he replied, "I know."

The cat hopped into his lap and collapsed into a boneless puddle of fur.

"Guess we'll just have to see how it goes, won't we?" he asked the cat basking in his lap.

Mugen's only answer was a contented purr.


	6. Chapter 6

Part VI

Shingo had just dozed off with Mugen curled up on his stomach when he was shocked awake by a loud pounding. Suddenly, his front door flung open and Keisuke stormed into the apartment.

"Aha!"

"Wha?" Shingo asked groggily. Mugen leapt off him and ran into the bedroom as he sat up.

"Where is he?" the blond driver demanded.

"Who?"

"Takeshi! I know he's here!"

"What? Takeshi?"

"That's right, Takeshi! You didn't think I'd find out, but Ryousuke told me he was here!" Keisuke flung open the door of the coat closet then slammed it shut again when an ex-boyfriend failed to be hiding in there. He started to shout at the top of his lungs. "You'd better come out here right now, Nakazato! I know you're hiding in here somewhere, and when I find you-"

"How dare you come in here and accuse me of screwing around with Takeshi?" Shingo interrupted, cutting through Keisuke's bellowing with an angry hiss. "After all that shit with your parents, who the hell do you think you are?"

Keisuke blinked.

"So…you're saying he's not here?"

"No, he's not!" Shingo growled. "Now get out!"

The Redsuns driver's relief was rather short lived as he realized that he would now have to deal with a livid Shingo.

"No. We need to talk…"

"What? You just broke down my door, accused me of sleeping around, and now you want to talk?"

Keisuke frowned.

"Er…yeah…"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Oh come on, Shingo! That crap with my parents wasn't my fault. And how was I supposed to know you weren't doing anything? You were mad at me, and then I find out that you and Nakazato have this weird thing together, and then Aniki tells me he's here. What am I supposed to think?"

"Did it ever occur to you to trust me?"

"Well yeah, but…you were so pissed off at me. I figured you'd be capable of anything," he finished sheepishly.

"Your faith in me just warms my fucking heart!"

"Oh come on! It's not like that! I came here tonight because I just couldn't stand the thought of you being with someone else. I know you're really pissed at me, and I guess I understand why. But really, I didn't know my dad would act like that. I just wanted them to meet you, because…because I love you, and I wanted everyone to know it. Nothing my parents or anyone else says will ever change that."

Shingo gaped at him, his only reply a stunned silence. Overwhelmed, he simply didn't know how to respond. It felt as though nothing he could possibly say would be good enough to express how deeply Keisuke's words had affected him. Impulsively, he grabbed the tall blond and pulled him down into a fierce kiss that he hoped would convey everything that he could not in words. Keisuke's arms wrapped around him, drawing them closer so that their bodies pressed together in an almost desperate embrace. Shingo switched from Keisuke's mouth to his neck, and from his neck to his ears as Keisuke's hands busied themselves with removing their clothing as quickly as humanly possible. They stumbled blindly into the bedroom, but just before Shingo flipped off the lights, he paused. He stared searchingly into his lover's eyes for one long moment before,

"You know this means I love you too, right?"

Keisuke frowned.

"Well duh!" he replied. Then he shut off the lights and closed the bedroom door.


End file.
